Waterlands

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TautogShoulder season

Cape · New Jersey

Deepwater Point

39.70°N · 75.51°W · Cape · Delaware Bay waters north of East Point NJ to Slaughter Beach DE

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Best score today · 7 AM · Tautog

79/100Great
Now
546 PM EDT
Best window
7-9 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding1.4 ft ▲

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 PM · now

Time6PNOW
Score54Good
Tide1.4 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.3 kn · toward NNE
Wind10 kn ENEgusts 26 · steady
Air temp64°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water74°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Tautog is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with NJFW before you keep a fish.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Tautog is best here

Shoulder season for Tautog · 1 more week at shoulder

Tautog season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Tautog · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Tautog in New Jersey

Spot profile

Deepwater Point

Depth
1-50 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · drop-off
Season
Shoulder seasonTautog

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 13 on a 3.4 m grid. Depths are feet below NAVD 88, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.

About this spot

Fishing Deepwater Point

Deepwater Point is a cape in Delaware Bay waters north of East Point NJ to Slaughter Beach DE, New Jersey. Depth in the nearest water is 1-50 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are scup, little tunny and spot. It is peak season now for scup, little tunny, spot and sheepshead, and shoulder season for black sea bass, bluefish, king mackerel and striped bass. Scup peak from June through October. Little tunny peak from September through October. Spot peak from August through October.

Tackle & technique

Tautog
Tautog live in rocks, wrecks, bridge pilings and jetties and rarely stray from cover, usually in 10 to 60 feet inshore and deeper in late fall. Anchor so the bait sits in the structure, fish crab on a short rig or a tog jig, and set hard on the second tap before the fish pulls into the rocks. Clams and worms work better in cold spring water; hard crabs are the standard in fall.
Scup
Scup school over hard and mixed bottom, rock piles, mussel beds, piers and jetties, usually in 10 to 60 feet of water. Fish a high-low rig with small hooks and squid or clam strips on the bottom, and chum with clam to hold a school under the boat. If nothing bites within 15 minutes, move to the next piece of structure.
Little tunny
Little tunny travel fast in schools that pin bait against inlets, points, jetties and tide rips, usually within a few miles of shore and often in less than 60 feet. Stay off the school's path, wait for it to surface within range, and cast small metal or epoxy jigs with a fast retrieve. When fish stay down, troll small feathers along bait edges and color changes to find them.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Marsh Point

    Cape · 7.8 mi

    76
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 76
    • Bluefish 68
    • Spanish mackerel 66

    12 kt ENEH 9:49 PM · 5.8 ftL 4:47 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Baker Shoal

    Bar · 15 mi

    75
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 75
    • Spanish mackerel 73
    • Summer flounder 70

    12 kt ENEH 9:10 PM · 6.5 ftL 3:55 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Baker Range

    Channel · 16 mi

    73
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 73
    • Scup 71
    • Summer flounder 71

    12 kt ENEH 9:10 PM · 6.5 ftL 3:55 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Kelly Point

    Cape · 4.0 mi

    69
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 69
    • Spot 64
    • Scup 63

    10 kt ENEH 10:14 PM · 5.9 ftL 5:08 AM · 0.6 ft

Scores and forecasts are for planning only and can be wrong. Conditions on the water change fast; check the marine forecast before you go. Regulations change during the season, so confirm limits and closures with NJFW before you keep a fish.